“What happened was not the result of October 7, but rather the result of the criminal policies of the Zionist occupation against Palestinians … the Palestinian people are subjected to genocide,” Sudani said in Tehran, the first stop of his regional tour on the war in Gaza.
Relentless Israeli airstrikes have pounded Gaza in retaliation for a surprise attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on October 7. The strikes have left at least 9,770 dead, including scores of women and children, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
On October 7, Palestinian Hamas launched an air, ground, and sea infiltration that caught Israel by surprise, killing around 1,400 people and kidnapping more than 240, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the following day that they were “embarking on a long and difficult war” with the militant group.
Sudani’s remarks came hours after meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in an unannounced Baghdad visit on Sunday evening, where the latter condemned attacks on US forces in Iraq against the backdrop of the Israel-Gaza war and said that Washington reserves the right to protect American interests and personnel.
In Tehran, Sudani said that Iraq’s position on the Palestinian cause is “firm and principled towards the struggle of the Palestinian people to achieve freedom and establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
“The residents of Gaza have faced a large imprisonment for decades in full view of the silent world that did not do anything despite international conventions,” he stated.
Sudani affirmed that Iraq is in contact with regional countries to call for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, and is working to open humanitarian corridors and sending aid to the Strip.
Raisi reiterated Sudani’s remarks of calling for a ceasefire, saying that “the positons of Iraq and Iran are shared on the Palestinian issue, and there must be a ceasefire in Gaza and the crimes of the Zionist entity must stop.”
“We renew our thanks to the prime minister for his positions towards the Palestinian issue,” he added, referring to Sudani.
Iran and Israel are fierce rivals and have been engaged in a shadow war. Tehran has backed Hamas militants as well as other armed groups in the Middle East opposed to Israel such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Israel views Iran as one of the main threats to its national security and has carried out covert attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities.
The war in Gaza has sparked sympathy across the Arab world where the Palestinian cause has widespread support. At a peace summit in Egypt late last month, Sudani criticized global failure to support human rights and justice in the conflict. “Palestine stands as a living testament for this recurring failure,” he said.
In an op-ed in The Guardian on Saturday, Sudani referred the events in Gaza to those of crisis-hit Iraq over the past decades.
“Few countries have endured the suffering and conflict that Iraq has experienced over the past 50 years. The tragic events in Gaza bring back painful memories for the Iraqi people. Red lines have been crossed, with civilians enduring unimaginable suffering, and as a result there is an urgent need for critical humanitarian assistance,” he wrote.
